


Bon courage

by Sylvalum



Category: Sonic X, Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Ending, Banter, Chao Garden, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Restaurants, Sonadow Week 2020, Sonic Lost World, Summer Olympics, i guess spoilers for lost world?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:17:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22612867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvalum/pseuds/Sylvalum
Summary: Sonadow week 2020 prompts!Feb 8: Friends - Sonic has friends all over the world, living in many different places, so it’s always him visiting them. Shadow finding him randomly while he's out for a chilidog is therefore a very nice surprise.Feb 9: Alternate End: Sonic X - one day Sonic stumbles upon a spaceship when out wandering, and inside is someone lying out cold who looks an awful lot like Shadow…Feb 10: Chao Garden - Sonic and Shadow (and Tails) find a Chao Garden in Chun-nan while looking for a Chaos emerald.Feb 11: Comfort - post Lost World, and Sonic & Tails have made their triumphant return. Shadow was rather concerned when he thought he’d see Mobius and Sonic’s friends die down here without being able to do anything, though, and Sonic is not exactly without his own bad memories.Feb 12: Last - Sonic gets last place in surfing in Tokyo. Shadow offers to help.Feb 13: Hopes - Archie, Shattered World crisis, Team Dark and the FF run into each other in Empire City for a bit, giving everyone time to catch up with each other and maybe find some hope for the future.Feb 14: Free day - At the aftermath of a battle, Sonic and Shadow share a Moment.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 23
Kudos: 166





	1. Friends

**Author's Note:**

> i'm going to try to do all the prompts this year!!

Sonic has friends all over the world, since he’s always coming and going and never spends too much time in one place. So it’s nearly always him who makes the visits, who comes over to see them when he thinks it’s been a while since last time. Because Sonic is always on the move. Sonic has no permanent address. Sonic enjoys napping in the grass, and checking in with Tails in the workshop, and meeting new people on the road in Shamar, Spagonia, Adabat. He enjoys long discussions and the silence of a deep forest. And he loves his freedom most of all.

Still, he’s sure he’d love surprise visits, if he ever decided to settle down.

Not that he’s going to! But still. Just some idle speculations, you know? And Sonic does love his friends a lot.

So when he’s sitting at a table outside a little restaurant one sunny day in Empire City, and Shadow’s voice then suddenly says, “Didn’t expect to see _ you _ here. What is it you always say, ‘long time no see’?” Sonic feels like he’s just won a surprise lottery prize.

“Shadow!” Sonic grins and kicks at the chair opposite of him, making it slide out a bit. “It’s been _ ages, _ man, why don’t you take a seat?”

Shadow sits down, and sets down a heavy black bag by his feet before straightening up. He looks much the same as the last time Sonic saw him - a little more tan, maybe. Sonic says, _ “So… _ you here for business or what? Where’s Rouge and Omega?”

“They’re otherwise occupied,” Shadow says in that voice that means that wherever they are, it’s classified information. “I am waiting for them to return.”

“Oh,” Sonic says. “You think they’re doing alright?”

“Of course,” Shadow says, sounding almost affronted, and Sonic laughs.

Then a waiter appears to take their orders and Shadow begins to say, “I really shouldn’t stay…”

“Hey, c’mon,” Sonic immediately interjects. “Let me buy you a sandwich first, at least.”

“Fine,” Shadow agrees, shaking his head a little. “I’ll have a vegetarian sandwich.”

“And I’ll take a plate of chilidogs!” Sonic winks at Shadow, who grimaces. Sonic had gotten Shadow to try a chilidog exactly _ once, _ and ever since then, Shadow had adamantly refused to listen to any of Sonic’s food recommendations. Sometimes Sonic thinks that hey, maybe Shadow’s mostly protesting so much for the sake of the joke - but then again, Shadow’s humour is pretty flat and Sonic never knows whether to trust his gut instincts when it comes to Shadow or not.

Because Sonic’s guts keep telling him that Shadow might be_ interested _ in Sonic, too, that maybe Sonic’s gigantic crush isn’t a lost cause. And thoughts like that obviously can’t be trusted, so Sonic just keeps shoving down all the thoughts about _ how nice it is to race Shadow, and man does he want to kiss Shadow, doesn’t Shadow just look amazing like that? _

They’re foolish, erratic thoughts, and Sonic treasures his friendship with Shadow _ so much. _

It took them years to get here, to being able to sit peacefully at a restaurant together and share a meal. Sonic’s not about to ruin _ that _ by being a hasty dumbass again, no way!

“The Doctor’s been quiet lately,” Shadow comments, after Sonic’s already eaten two chilidogs while Shadow has taken like, one bite of his own sandwich. “Do you think he’s planning something big?”

“Eh,” Sonic says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Last time he went quiet for two months all he had to show for it was that super embarrassing Egg Siren or whatever. The _ only _ thing, and I’m not kidding you here, that that robot could do was scream.”

“Hmm,” Shadow says, and takes another bite of his sandwich.

“And besides,” Sonic adds with a little grin. “If Eggman _ does _ come up with a new scheme, we’re more than enough to stop it, right Shads?”

“You mean _ us _ two?” Shadow asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Sure!” Sonic says, ignoring the fluttery nervous twitch of his heart. “We’re the very definition of a dream team, aren’t we? We’ve got super speed, we’ve got amazing good looks, we’ve got a long and dramatic backstory-”

“How could a lot of history _ possibly _ help us defeat the Doctor?” Shadow asks, but _ oh, _ he’s smiling, he’s trying to hide it but he definitely thinks Sonic’s funny. Satisfaction tastes sweet and bubbly like soda and Sonic smirks.

“Guess you’ll find out next time Eggman’s in town,” Sonic tells him, and then-

Shadow’s phone rings. Sonic eats a chilidog while Shadow takes the call, his expression calm and patient as he listens and talks. He tells the caller he’ll see them in a bit then ends the call, staring to get up from the table and hefting his bag. “That was Rouge,” he explains, almost a bit apologetically, pulling out a few bills from a side pocket of the bag. “Here’s for my sandwich,” he says, and - he’s leaving.

“No, no,” Sonic says. “Told you I’d pay for your meal, didn’t I?”

“Then this can be a tip for the waiter,” Shadow argues back, and Sonic throws up his hands.

“Alright,” he says. “Say hi to Rouge for me. Guess I’ll see you around some other day.”

“You do own a phone, don’t you,” Shadow says, slinging the bag over his shoulder. “You can call.”

“Huh.” Sonic looks up at Shadow, and says, “That won’t bother you?”

“No. Feel free to,” Shadow says, but his eyes are soft as he turns around and begins walking away. “Goodbye.”


	2. Alternate End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feb 9: Alternate End, Sonic X - one day Sonic stumbles upon a spaceship when out wandering, and inside is someone lying out cold who looks an awful lot like Shadow…

After Chris returned home, life on Mobius resumed as easily as if there never had been any Metarex at all. Tails picked himself up rather quickly and started working in the workshop again, and Amy, Cream and the Chao all began visiting a lot, bringing cakes and pastries with them. And while desserts are tasty and friends are good, Sonic sometimes feels the need for some peace and quiet so keenly he ends up running away for a whole day lest he begin scratching at the walls.

Today is one of those days.

On Earth, Sonic had had entire new continents’ worth of space to explore, while on Mobius he’s seen pretty much every biome there is available. Still, he likes to run about in the fields and forests closer to home, seeing if he can spot anything new that wasn’t there the last time he went running. It’s become a little game he plays with himself.

He runs to the river and through the meadows, spotting a brand new fallen tree on the way. One point for today! Smiling, Sonic continues toward the grassy hills on the other side of the fields, running to the top of the highest one. And from that vantage point, he takes a good long look around him and sees-

A wrecked spaceship.

After his first knee-jerk  _ no way _ reaction, Sonic realises that yeah, no, that’s definitely a spaceship lying by that pond down there. It’s small, grey and sleek - very anonymous-looking. Eggman  _ might _ have built it, but really, there’s no way to tell. And it looks pretty beat up. Sonic doesn’t think Eggman would’ve just abandoned one of his creations out in the wild like this.

Sonic makes his way over to the beached spaceship to take a closer look. Windshield’s cracked, it’s pitch dark inside, and the only door is locked. He wanders around the ship another time just to be sure, then stands in front of the locked door for a while and considers. 

If he wants any answers… they’ll be inside the ship.

And the door is locked. 

In the end, it doesn’t take him long to decide. Sonic takes a few steps back, then leaps forward and kicks the door in. 

It lands with a bang, things clattering as they fall down after it. Sonic almost feels a bit guilty about that but proceeds inside of the spaceship anyway, the doorway behind him letting in some sunlight to see by. What he finds first is the cockpit right in front of him, with the cracked windshield and all the controls for the ship. There’s a pilot’s chair too, and-

-someone’s lying on the floor in front of it, slumped beneath the dashboard.

“Hello?” Sonic tries, then quickly crouches down to pull them out, realising quickly that a) the passed out guy’s a hedgehog, b) it’s not just the darkness making his fur look black, and c) wow doesn’t he look  _ very _ suspiciously familiar, huh?

Then Sonic’s dragged the hedgehog out and dumped him back in the chair and-

Look, it can’t be anyone else than Shadow the Hedgehog.

Except Shadow-

Shadow’s gone. 

After Shadow had stopped him from using Chaos control out there in space at the end of their long desperate last battle with the Metarex, instead opting to do it himself -  _ “a risky move. And maybe his last one ever” _ \- no one had seen Shadow. Not even Eggman had been able to say anything else than… than condolences about yet another life lost.

Yet here Shadow is. Or  _ whoever _ it is, who looks  _ exactly _ like Shadow, from the streaks in his quills down to his rocket-shoes.

Doubt and suspicion and fragile hope make Sonic hesitate, unsure about what to do next. But a moment later, compassion wins. No matter who the passed out hedgehog is or isn’t, he need help, and Sonic can give it.

Sonic picks him up in a fireman’s carry, takes a last look at the inside of the spaceship and finds a bag but nothing else, then takes that bag and gets outside again. He takes great care to memorise the location of the crash site in case he’ll need to return - the pond in the valley between the grassy hills - then makes sure he’s got a secure grip on both the hedgehog and his bag, before starting to run.

When Sonic arrives at the workshop, Amy and Cream have gone home and Tails is in the kitchen making soup. At Sonic’s arrival in the doorway he abandons the pot on the stove and comes over, making a shocked noise as Sonic sets down the passed out guy on the sofa. “Is that Shadow?” he exclaims.  _ “How?” _

“Might be,” Sonic says. “Not sure. Especially since…”

“Yeah,” Tails agrees, quietly.

“I hope he wakes up soon,” Sonic says, giving the hedgehog another long thoughtful look. “No other way for us to find out if he really is Shadow…”

Tails twists his hands and asks, “And if he  _ is?” _

“Then…” Sonic’s mouth quirks in a wry smile. “Then I guess I’ve got a few things I need to tell him.”


	3. Chao Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feb 10: Chao Garden - Sonic and Shadow (and Tails) find a Chao Garden in Chun-nan while looking for a Chaos emerald.

Tails had fine-tuned his Chaos Emerald sensor this morning, which immediately lit up with coordinates for a valley in Chun-nan, and - honestly, what more can they say? The early bird gets the crumbs and all that, so while Tails jumped in the Tornado Sonic called Shadow for backup - always helps to have a Chaos energy expert with you in case things go belly up - and a few hours or so later, here they are! Trekking through the idyllic Chun-nese countryside.

They’re following a thin shore in an otherwise water-filled valley, high mountains surrounding them on all sides. The air tastes completely different here than in the Federation, and there’s some kind of birds overhead making very interesting noises, though Sonic can’t see them.

“So what do you think?” he asks over his shoulder, and Shadow grunts.

“The emerald… is definitely around here somewhere.” He says vaguely, gazing out at the wide expanse of water next to them with narrowed eyes.

“I wonder what’s more precise,” Sonic says idly, trailing after Tails, “Your senses, or Tails’ science.”

“Well I’d say,” Tails begins, then stops abruptly. He’s staring intently down at the little screen of the sensor. “Oh boy,” he then mutters.

“Let me guess,” Shadow says, exasperated. “The emerald’s in the water?”

“The  _ water?” _ Sonic exclaims, even as Tails confirms Shadow’s statement.

“Don’t worry,” Shadow says dryly. “This is why you asked me to come, isn’t it?”

He takes off his shoes. Sonic stares at him, tries to think of something to say, and ends up with, “I guess I can guard your stuff?”

Shadow snorts and shakes his head, starting to wade out into the water. “From what?” he says. “Chao?” and then he starts swimming, and Sonic stands there on the shore and looks at him as he goes and tries to convince himself that the feeling he’s got right now is  _ definitely _ envy about Shadow’s ability to swim.

Then Tails says, “I think he jinxed us.”

Sonic turns around and the first thing he sees is a green-striped Chao attempting to run off with Shadow’s left rocket-skate, a few other Chao waddling out of the bushes to look at Tails. “Oh, shoot,” Sonic says, then quickly grabs the Chao holding Shadow’s shoe and pries the skate gently from its grip. The Chao cries plaintively at him and Sonic says, “Sorry, bud. But this belongs to a friend of mine, so you can’t have it.”

The Chao looks at him with wide gleaming eyes, misty with tears, and Sonic looks around himself a little desperately - until he finds a shiny rock by the water. He grabs it quickly and holds it out to the Chao, saying, “Here you go, buddy! See, this rock’s  _ way _ shinier than some old shoe, don’tcha think?”

The Chao takes the rock. Sonic smiles encouragingly at it then quickly gets up to deal with the other Chao, but finds that they’re all clustered around Tails. It’s adorable. Tails seems to be dealing with them well enough on his own, so Sonic turns back to the lake- and just in time to see Shadow surface from the water, holding a Chaos emerald.

Sonic waves. Shadow just starts swimming back to the shore, so Sonic sits down to guard his shoes from the green Chao, who’s started sneaking glances at them again.

When Shadow reaches the shore, he stares at the Chao. The Chao stares back before squeaking and then launching itself into the water, huddling up close to Shadow, who transfers his stare to Sonic. 

Sonic says brightly, “It seems to like you! Isn’t it just the cutest?”

Shadow drags a hand over his face. He’s dripping wet, and in his other hand he’s still holding the emerald. “I’m pretty sure it just wants the emerald.”

“Well,” Sonic says.  _ “I’m _ glad you’re here. And uh, thanks for getting the emerald out!”

“Hmm,” Shadow says, and glances down at the Chao. He might be smiling, or it might just be a trick of the light. “You’re welcome.”


	4. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feb 11: Comfort - post Lost World, and Sonic & Tails have made their triumphant return. Shadow was rather concerned when he thought he’d see Mobius and Sonic’s friends die down here without being able to do anything, though, and Sonic is not exactly without his own bad memories.

When the planet stopped dying and Rouge finally heaved a big gasping breath after a whole minute of stillness, Shadow sagged on the couch and pressed his hands into his eyes and thought,  _ he did it. _ Sonic really, somehow, got a grip on the situation in the end. Shadow had been preparing himself for fury and grief, not  _ relief. _

When the whole sordid phenomenon had begun, Shadow and Omega had at first had no idea why Rouge had fallen ill so terribly quickly, but then Shadow had gone outside for a grocery run and realised that it wasn’t _ just _ Rouge; the whole planet was decaying right before his eyes. Plants were withering, leaves were falling off the trees, birds and critters and squirrels lying so still in the park. The whole block was eerily silent, with no people out and about…

First he called Sonic and then Tails, who both failed to answer, and then finally Amy, who told Shadow what was happening. About Sonic and Tails fighting for their planet’s future in a world far above them called the Lost Hex.

That there was nothing Shadow could do, except to go home and wait and hope like the rest of them.

Shadow wasn’t born; he was created. All created things are made to fill a purpose - if not for art, then created things are made to be useful. And Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform, he was made to save Maria and failed in that so what Shadow’s nightmares most prominently feature is the feeling of being  _ helpless. _ Useless. Unable to do a single damn thing to save anyone.

Save the ones he loves.

He’s damn well going to use that word; of course he loves Rouge, Rouge who almost died in front of him because some mad tyrant on another world decided to drain their planet’s life force because- Shadow cannot recall if Amy even gave him the villain’s reason for doing so. Either way…

A day after Sonic and Tails have made their triumphant return back home, Shadow heads to Tails’ workshop by the sea. It’s near the Mystic Ruins nearby Station Square, far away from Central City, so Shadow uses his Chaos emerald to warp directly onto Tails’ front lawn. Sonic claims he doesn’t actually live with Tails, but all evidence points to the contrary, and when Shadow rings the doorbell, Sonic is the one who answers the door.

“Oh, uh, hi Shadow,” Sonic says, dragging a hand through his already-disheveled quills. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to…”  _ Yes, what? _ “Hear more about this ‘Lost Hex’,” Shadow finishes a bit lamely, because that is not actually what he came here to say. He’s already regretting this.

But Sonic simply beckons him inside and leads him to the living room, where he promptly sprawls out on one of the sofas. He closes his eyes, folds his arms beneath his head and says, “Yeah, we just got back. I’ve been sleeping for like fourteen hours- anyway. The Lost Hex… where do I start?”

“What happened there?” Shadow asks. How could things start to go so badly, and still end with Sonic saving the day?

“Maaany things,” Sonic says. “We fought Eggman, teamed up with him, and then he backstabbed us, of course… And then there were the Zeti. Some kinda band of evil aliens.” Sonic sits up and starts gesturing with his hands. “So first off Eggman tried to mind-control them, the usual garbage, you know? But because he needed this one thingamabob to actually  _ do  _ it, and I might’ve kinda been the one who made him lose control of it - well, then the Zeti turned on him, and it turned out that they could control machines with their thoughts, so then they turned the whole Egg army on us…”

Shadow listens and Sonic talks, painting up the whole recent week in a much funnier light than it must’ve really been to go through it. And there are places where Sonic pauses his story for just a moment, looking off into the distance, and Shadow’s mind quietly fills in the blanks for him.

Sonic had spent hours thinking Tails was dead.

Thinking that everyone back here on the planet was dead.

“You know what?” Sonic says then, looking down at his hands. “The worst thing wasn’t that all that shit  _ happened _ \- it was the times when I’d be talking to Amy and seeing everything down here dying and then I was just…”

“Not able to do anything?” Shadow guesses, wildly. Except not so wildly after all, because sometimes he and Sonic are more similar than anyone would guess. On the oddest of topics, you could find a middle ground with nearly anyone - and what Sonic strives most fervently to do is the exact same thing as Shadow fights for: protecting this world.

“Yeah,” Sonic says, looking at him like he’s suddenly realised something. “Did the life-sapping machine affect you too?”

“No,” Shadow says. Because his worst nightmare is that everyone will die  _ except for him,  _ he who is immortal and perfect and  _ ultimate, _ who will live on forever and ever until the sun dies.

“Oh,” Sonic says.

“Yes,” Shadow agrees, softly. “I am… very glad you succeeded, Sonic.”

“So am I,” Sonic says, and for a second he sounds more tired than Shadow’s ever heard him before. Shadow doesn’t want - Shadow wishes Sonic would never have had to experience the feeling of being left behind, of being the only survivor. Sonic shouldn’t ever be left as the only one, he with all his friends and his little brother.

(his cheerful genius little brother who he’d no doubt do anything to protect)

Haltingly, Shadow gets up from the other sofa to tentatively sit down next to Sonic instead, and Sonic quirks an eyebrow at him. “You found a loose spring in the other one?” he jokes.

“No.” Shadow clears his throat. “I merely felt I had to say… if you want to talk to someone, I’m… here. I suppose.”

“Oh boy, what’s happening?” Sonic says, then chuckles and scrubs a hand over his face. Shadow finds himself unable to look away from Sonic. “I thought  _ I  _ was supposed to be the one good at emotions, here.”

“I have many secret talents,” Shadow answers vaguely, wondering if perhaps he shouldn’t have done this after all - but then Sonic leans into him, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

“Ooh, secret talents.” Sonic waggles his eyebrows at him and Shadow makes sure to roll his eyes.

“Quit it.”

“C’mon, I know that deep down, you love me, really-”

And for a paralysing moment, Shadow freezes and can’t think of any reply. He makes himself relax quickly, but it’s already too late; Sonic’s noticed. Because to Sonic, a second is an eternity and Shadow’s little slip took at least two.

Shadow clears his throat, forces himself to say something, the world’s least convincing, “As if.”

Sonic chuckles, and when he looks away it’s like Shadow can actually feel the strand of tension snapping. “Yeah, sure,” he says. “But… if you change your mind later, we could go out for dinner somewhere? Maybe?”

Shadow takes a moment to just breathe. “Yeah. Maybe,” he then says, and Sonic’s face lights up so brightly Shadow has trouble restraining his own giddy smile.

“Alright,” Sonic says. “And if you wanna talk, you know that I’m also, so to say, here.”


	5. Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feb 12: Last - Sonic gets last place in surfing in Tokyo. Shadow offers to help him get better at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops! was super busy yesterday so i only just finished this today, anyway, enjoy!

In the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo there’s a category for the residents of Earth and another category for extrastellar visitors, with Shadow, Sonic and all their associates falling into category number two. But still there are usually at least twenty other competitors in every sport Shadow competes in - and yet, what happens _ every _ single time is that he gets to the arena, realises Sonic is competing too, and then Sonic locks eyes with him and smirks and from that point onward the _ only _ thing Shadow cares about is beating Sonic.

Every other competitor becomes insignificant, white noise. The whole track or arena becomes the stage for another one of his and Sonic’s legendary duels, yet another place to test their rivalry.

Sonic wins all the sprinting sports with Shadow as an extremely close second - the track’s too short for them to really get into it either way. Therefore where things really get interesting is in discus, and archery, and gymnastics.

Sometimes Shadow gets more points, sometimes Sonic. Sometimes they don’t even make it to the top ten. But none of that matters; what matters is only to be better than the other. And they are evenly matched in every single sport until-

Shadow wins gold at surfing while Sonic takes dead last place.

After, when the ceremony’s over and everyone’s congratulated the winners and Shadow has told Rouge to head onwards to the party in the athletes’ village while Shadow tries to find some food,_ really, _ he’s fine - after that, Shadow finds Sonic sulking outside the locker rooms. All the surfers’ equipment is provided for by the games, so the fact that Sonic’s holding a surfboard right _ now _ means that he brought his own after the game already ended, and returned here.

Shadow steps forward. “Did you get lost? The Olympic village is back in the city, Sonic.”

“Pff,” Sonic shakes his head. “You think I’ve even _ once _ gotten lost in my life? And what are _ you _ doing here, anyway?”

Shadow crosses his arms. “I’m leaving. You should too.”

“Yeah, later, now scram.” Sonic makes a shooing motion with the hand he’s not holding the surfboard with, and Shadow… narrows his eyes.

“Are you planning to _ surf?” _

Now Sonic crosses his arms. “So what if I am?”

“But why?” Shadow frowns.

“Can’t I train a bit? Why are you so on my case about this?”

“I’m not. I only think that…”

“That I’m shit at surfing?”

Sonic glares a little at Shadow, who throws up his hands. “I only _ think,” _ Shadow repeats. “That perhaps you should start small. Maybe begin with a trainer, and elsewhere, instead of immediately attempting to tackle the ocean-”

“Hey!” Sonic snaps with his fingers before pointing at Shadow. “You won gold, didn’t you? You could train me!”

Shadow sighs very deeply, though to be perfectly honest - if he has to pick between an Olympics class party or some alone time with Sonic, of course he’ll go with Sonic. It’s a clear summer evening and the waves are just right, and… “Okay, _ fine.” _

* * *

Shadow’s very pleased to see that Sonic selected a longboard, as they’re easier for beginners, but then he quickly takes note of the lifejacket he’s wearing and recalls a rather vital piece of information. “Aren’t you afraid of water?” Shadow asks, as they’re standing there on the shoreline, the waves hitting their knees before receding.

“Haha, yeah!” Sonic says with a nervous chuckle. “But I’m wearing my lifejacket, and you’ll be right here, so… just gotta face my fears, am I right?”

“Huh.” Shadow looks out at the horizon. “Well then. Get on your board.”

Shadow selected a shortboard for himself from the shop nearby Shidashita beach, and tags along with Sonic as he paddles his board out into deeper waters. When they’re far enough out, with some actual waves rocking them, Shadow tells Sonic to stop and asks, “Do you know how to avoid the waves? That is to say, how to ‘turtle roll’?”

“I guess?”

“Great. Then let’s try catching a wave.”

They mess around in the water for a while. Sonic does manage to ride the wave a few times, but equally as many times the wave hits him too hard and his board flips over, foam spraying. “Just be patient,” Shadow tells him. “Patience is key. Keep your feet close together and your posture loose when you’re standing.”

“Why are _ you _so good at this?” Sonic cries in exasperation. “Surfing’s all about… patience and chill and taking things as they come and stuff.”

“I find that’s a rather good life philosophy,” Shadow answers blandly. “And I’m a good swimmer.”

Sonic rolls his eyes and runs both hands through his now soaked-through quills, making them stick up almost like when he’s in his Super form. His face is flushed and his eyes are shining and Shadow realises with a jolt that he’s been staring, when Sonic catches him in the act and winks at him. Shadow quickly turns away, but he can feel his ears warming stupidly. Dammit.

Shadow clears his throat. “I’m… surprised you wanted to do this. Don’t you want to participate in the partying?”

“I’ll get another chance to do that,” Sonic says. “But when would I ever get the chance to go surfing with you again?”

“Hmm,” Shadow says, and looks at Sonic. “There are beaches back home, aren’t there?”

“Sure,” Sonic says. He licks his lips. “So… does this mean you want to do this again or...?”

“I don’t see why not,” Shadow answers, and watches as Sonic starts grinning. “After all, you still have much practice to do before you’re anywhere _ near _ good at this.”

“Hey!” Sonic exclaims, and swats some water at Shadow, who stifles his own grin. “That’s so rude. You’re my coach, you’re supposed to be all supportive and cheerful and-”

“-and reminding you to do your exercises, yes, yes,” Shadow cuts in, smirking. “Now go catch that wave coming from over there.”


	6. Hopes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feb 13: Hopes - Archie, the world’s shattered, and everyone feels kinda down in the dumps, and Sonic’s also dealing with his furry nighttime crisis. During this Team Dark and the FF run into each other in Empire City for a bit, giving everyone time to catch up with each other and maybe find some hope for the future.

The whole world is quite literally broken into pieces, so they _ do _ have much bigger things to worry about, but Shadow still feels rather discontent with what happened on Angel Island. Shadow is a living weapon - yet Sonic, Rouge, Hope and many others helped him realise that that’s not what his life has to be about. He could remake himself into whoever he wanted to be; he _ did. _He’s found a new purpose in protecting this world Maria longed so much for, and in looking out for his friends.

And if Shadow could be redeemed, then so can other living weapons. Take Omega, for instance, who went from one of Eggman’s most vicious to a trusted friend and teammate.

Though things certainly didn’t go as well with Eclipse.

What Eclipse said is still bothering Shadow. The Black Arms had kept going on and on about being Shadow’s brother, yet blatantly refused any of Shadow’s attempts to offer him a hand and point him away from his evil ways.

Still - there’s a shattered world to worry about. They’re heading to Empire City right now for a debrief, with Rouge in the pilot’s seat of their aircraft and Shadow and Omega in the back. It’ll be good to get back to HQ and see Hope again; they weren’t gone that long, but nevertheless, Shadow has missed her.

Rouge lands the jet on top of HQ and they all get in the elevator, goes to Commander Tower’s office, and immediately get hit with another assignment. “The Freedom Fighters are in town,” Tower tells them briskly. “Go find them, talk to them, see if they have any useful information about whatever’s happened to the planet. You can find them at a restaurant downtown, put on your comms and I’ll send you more detailed instructions on the way. Clear?”

“Yes, sir,” they say.

Rouge and Omega noticeably share a look, but Shadow resolves to pay them no mind, getting out of the office and hailing the three of them another elevator. Shadow and Rouge put in their comm units, Omega complains about how boring this mission will be, and then a moment later they’re out in the city and on the tail of Sally and Sonic’s merry band of saviours.

* * *

It’s a bright and sunny afternoon in Empire City, which Sonic feels very happy about as he lounges back in his chair outside of the restaurant. Sally and Nicole went ahead to order, so Sonic, Tails, Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie, Amy and Cream are all just guarding their chosen tables. It feels really good to be back on solid ground, and the good weather’s a nice bonus! Sonic almost feels like taking a nap here, but-

“Oh, hey!” Tails says.

Sonic looks up and sees Shadow, Rouge and a massive bulky robot all approaching them. Huh.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asks.

“Oh, you know,” says Rouge airily. “Just taking a walk.”

The robot behind her says in a monotone but positively booming voice, “GIVE US INFORMATION.”

Shadow rubs a hand over his face and sighs. “We were supposed to be _ discreet, _ Omega.”

“Is that your new friend?” Tails asks, coming up behind Sonic to peer interestedly at Omega. “Omega, was it? Hi!”

“GREETINGS, MEATBAG,” says Omega. Sonic honestly can’t tell whether he’s glowering, or if that’s just how his optical units were made.

“It looks like one of Doctor Eggman’s ‘creations’,” Antoine adds, sounding suspicious and with one hand on the hilt of his sabre on his belt. Bunnie puts a hand on his shoulder and says,

“C’mon hon, I’m sure Sonic’s friends wouldn’t bring one of Eggman’s robots here, ain’t that right?”

“Of course not,” Rouge says, and takes a seat at Sonic's table, crossing her legs. “And as dear Omega here said,_ information. _ How is the planet doing?”

They all begin to settle back down, just in time as Sally and Nicole return, and after a brief moment Shadow takes a seat in between Sonic and Rouge. Sonic smiles at Shadow, who nods back to him like they’ve got some kinda business relationship and this happens all the time. Not that Sonic would mind if that were true. The Freedom Fighters are always in need of allies, and Shadow’s a powerful, trustworthy one - despite their history.

As they talk, Sonic finds out that Team Dark just recently were on Angel Island and spoke to Knuckles. “So how’s he doing?”

“Guarding the Master Emerald as usual,” Rouge answers and rolls her eyes.

“He’s not very fond of visitors, is he?” Shadow adds dryly, and Sonic chuckles.

“Nah,” he says. “But we still love him.”

Then Sally takes over the conversation, determinedly prying information out of Rouge’s hands, and Sonic and Shadow find themselves sitting in a corner a bit away from the rest and talking. Sonic’s been listening intently this whole time, and what he’s really concerned about right now is, “So do you think the Black Arms are any kind of future threat?”

“No,” Shadow says, looking towards the rest of his team, hands clasped on the table. “Eclipse was the last of them, and he… won’t be a problem.”

Sonic cocks his head to the side, looking thoughtfully at Shadow. “Eclipse… wasn’t he that extra-special Black Arms or--?”

“He was what I would’ve been, had I been a Black Arms and not a hybrid,” Shadow answers. “And, I repeat, he won’t be a problem.”

_ Oh. _ Sonic realises with an unsettling sinking feeling, that he isn’t the only one around here who might be questioning his identity. Turning into some weird Dark-Gaia powered beast every night isn’t… the worst thing that could ever happen, maybe, but it’s inconvenient and he never feels quite right in his skin afterwards. It’s like he’s not quite a hedgehog and not quite something _ else, _ stuck between stages like any day now the sun will come up and he won’t turn back. It’s just _ weird. _

The way Shadow scrubs a hand over his face, tiredly slouching in his seat, tells Sonic that maybe Shadow knows something about that feeling, too.

But then Shadow straightens up, and doesn’t quite smile but nearly as he looks at Sonic and says, “And I trust you’ll be able to put the planet together again, right, Sonic?”

Sonic grins. “Of course. I’ve got my team, we’ll figure it out together. We’ve gotten this far, after all, so getting there the rest of the way oughta be a piece of cake!”

“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Shadow tells him, teasingly.

Sonic squeezes his shoulder warmly. “Exactly. Nothing to worry about here, the future’s bright and we’re all getting there in one piece.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, end disclaimer: it was a while since I read these comics, but Team Dark is still the best thing ever  



	7. Free day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feb 14: Free day - At the aftermath of a battle, Sonic and Shadow share a Moment.

Where Super Sonic walks, flowers bloom in his wake. Shadow doesn’t think Sonic’s noticed it yet -  _ Shadow _ sure hadn’t noticed before today - but as he touches down on the field now Shadow can see it happening. Behind Sonic the ships of the Doctor’s fleet are burning and crashing into the ocean, and from the opposite direction Shadow can hear Sonic’s friends starting to shout as they come closer, running up the hill towards them.

And underneath Sonic’s feet, dandelions are shooting up through the grass, vines and forget-me-nots and daisies writhing on the ground as they grow out of control.

Shadow glances at Sonic, and no, Sonic really hasn’t noticed that it’s happening. He’s grinning at Shadow, smug and victorious, spreading his arms wide as he starts walking towards him. “The ships are down, the egg’s scrambled - now all we gotta worry about is Metal!”

The golden flames are gradually starting to fade, from his legs and up, but there’s still one last burst of growth before he returns to normal. Buttercups and maiden pink, blue vetch and harebells - wild flowers of every colour, a whole tangle of them, and Sonic doesn’t notice even one. Shadow coughs to hide his expression, but Sonic still narrows his eyes at him.

“What?” Sonic quirks an eyebrow. “You like chasing Metal down _ that  _ much? I know I don’t have anything on my face; the Chaos energy would’ve burned it off.”

Shadow clears his throat, mouth twitching. “Look behind you.”

“What the--?” Sonic stares at the trail of flowers, that clearly outlines the exact path he walked just a moment ago.

“I don’t understand how I’ve never noticed it before,” Shadow wonders out loud, while Sonic crouches down to poke at a dandelion.

_ “Man,  _ this is so cool,” he says gleefully. “You really think this has been happening every time we’ve gone super?”

“Maybe it only happens when it’s  _ you,” _ Shadow suggests, further developing his hypothesis, mostly because he doesn’t want to believe that he’d really be so oblivious as to not notice if this has been happening around him too.

Sonic snorts, then stands up again, holding a few flowers in hand. A small bouquet. “Maybe Knuckles could say  _ why  _ it happens,” Sonic suggests, coming up to Shadow and taking his hand. He puts the flowers there, folding Shadow’s fingers closed to hold the bouquet. “Hey, maybe that’s why he’s able to grow grapes up there! Because he’s got the Master emerald lying around.”

“Hmm,” Shadow says noncommittally, because he frankly doesn’t give a shit about Knuckles’ grape farming and especially not when Sonic is standing right here and smiling at him like this. “Your friends will be here in just a moment. You can ask him then.”

“Yeah,” Sonic says, swaying forward a little. “But first-”

Shadow ends up being the one to kiss Sonic first, though Sonic quickly gets his hands on Shadow’s back and pulls him in closer. This is only the second time they’ve ever kissed, that Shadow’s  _ ever _ done this- and as quickly as the feeling of butterflies and  _ more more _ comes, a rush of uncertainty follows.

He breaks the kiss and leans back so that Sonic can’t continue it, his voice sticking unnaturally in his throat at first as he says, “What are we doing?”

“Kissing?” Sonic blinks at him. “Oh, shoot, I’m sorry- I thought you wanted to continue this-”

“This?”

“You know,” Sonic laughs, nervously. “A… relationship?”

The tight uncomfortable feeling around Shadow’s ribcage eases, and he says, “Yes. I- nevermind.  _ Yes.” _

Sonic beams at him, cupping his face with one gentle hand, and then Tails, Knuckles and Amy finally reach them so Sonic lets him go to run and greet them instead-

But then he looks back, smiling. And motions for Shadow to follow him.

And so he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk who made the headcanon abt super sonic and flowers?? but:  
https://tekina-fiction.tumblr.com/image/178332609260
> 
> anyway, woop! i'm done!! now never again asdfgh


End file.
